Welcome!

So you've stumbled upon this website and you're wondering: Where am I?

Well hopefully I can answer that and any other questions you may have. My name is Ben Weldon. I am a photographer who lives just outside Philadelphia, Pa. In the summer of 2001, two friends and I piled into an old van we had purchased for $500.00 and set out on a much-hyped and long-awaited trek across the United States. Our mission was to see as much of this country as we could in a month. We had just completed our sophomore year of college and had nothing keeping us tethered to our homes in the suburbs of Philadelphia. In the span of thirty days, the three of us logged 10,600 miles, traveled to 31 states, visited all 4 borders of the United States, explored 11 National Parks, almost died 4 times, showered in 3 car washes, had several run-ins with the law, and waited patiently on the side of road a countless number of times for our van to decide if it had had enough. It was and still is the single most influential endeavor I've ever undertaken and it sparked an ambition in me that I'm finally able to fulfill ten years later: to visit all fifty states.

Ten years after my first road trip, I will be traveling to the final state on my list, Alaska. Though I'm excited to complete the mission, I'm even more excited to do it all again. My plan for this blog is to impart some of the stories about the best (and worst) things that I've encountered in the country, but also to invite others to share their interstate traveling experiences: crazy things that happened along the way, must-see places, hole-in-the-wall restaurants that aren't to be missed, tourist traps to avoid, etc. etc. So please, if you've taken a road trip or traveled anywhere and you have an interesting story or suggestion, send it my way and I will find a way to work it into the site. Hopefully this blog can become another source for the travel-minded or for those who simply dream of being on the road...

Tag Archives: road trip with strangers

I’m not sure why, maybe because a road trip can hold such a lasting place in your memory, or maybe because its one of the few times in your life that you are in such a confined place for a significant amount of time, but choosing the right person or persons to ride shotgun on...